Indy Split: The Big Money Battle That Nearly Destroyed Indy Racing

Indy Split: The Big Money Battle That Nearly Destroyed Indy Racing PDF Author: John Oreovicz
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781642340563
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 432

Get Book Here

Book Description
Tradition, technology, and personal bravery combined to make the Indianapolis 500 one of the world's most famous sporting events. However, political infighting within the industry--which climaxed with a 12-year "Split" from 1996 to 2007 between competing forms of Indy car racing--prevented the sport from achieving its potential. The Split seriously tarnished the reputation of the Indianapolis 500 and allowed NASCAR to become America's most popular form of motorsport. But Indy car racing's dysfunction didn't originate in 1996. The story begins in 1945, when a businessman from Terre Haute, Indiana named Tony Hulman rescued the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from potential redevelopment. Over the next 75 years, the Hulman-George family used the stature of the Speedway to carve out a powerful position in American auto racing. Stewardship of the IMS often brought the family into conflict with Indy car competitors. A volatile period in the late 1970s resulted in the formation of Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), and tensions ramped up even more when Hulman's grandson, Tony George, assumed power in 1990. The Split forced Indy car fans, sponsors, broadcasters and participants to choose sides. It created confusion and animosity and caused tremendous damage to the sport. With negotiations driven by legendary racer Mario Andretti and actor/racer Paul Newman, The Split was finally resolved in 2008, only for George to walk away less than three years later from the role he so desperately coveted. The long struggle for stability and leadership was finally resolved in 2020 when Roger Penske acquired IMS and the IndyCar Series.

Indy Split: The Big Money Battle That Nearly Destroyed Indy Racing

Indy Split: The Big Money Battle That Nearly Destroyed Indy Racing PDF Author: John Oreovicz
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781642340563
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 432

Get Book Here

Book Description
Tradition, technology, and personal bravery combined to make the Indianapolis 500 one of the world's most famous sporting events. However, political infighting within the industry--which climaxed with a 12-year "Split" from 1996 to 2007 between competing forms of Indy car racing--prevented the sport from achieving its potential. The Split seriously tarnished the reputation of the Indianapolis 500 and allowed NASCAR to become America's most popular form of motorsport. But Indy car racing's dysfunction didn't originate in 1996. The story begins in 1945, when a businessman from Terre Haute, Indiana named Tony Hulman rescued the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from potential redevelopment. Over the next 75 years, the Hulman-George family used the stature of the Speedway to carve out a powerful position in American auto racing. Stewardship of the IMS often brought the family into conflict with Indy car competitors. A volatile period in the late 1970s resulted in the formation of Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), and tensions ramped up even more when Hulman's grandson, Tony George, assumed power in 1990. The Split forced Indy car fans, sponsors, broadcasters and participants to choose sides. It created confusion and animosity and caused tremendous damage to the sport. With negotiations driven by legendary racer Mario Andretti and actor/racer Paul Newman, The Split was finally resolved in 2008, only for George to walk away less than three years later from the role he so desperately coveted. The long struggle for stability and leadership was finally resolved in 2020 when Roger Penske acquired IMS and the IndyCar Series.

Black Noon: The Year They Stopped the Indy 500

Black Noon: The Year They Stopped the Indy 500 PDF Author: Art Garner
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1250017785
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 353

Get Book Here

Book Description
Winner of the 2014 Dean Batchelor Award, Motor Press Guild "Book of the Year" Short-listed for 2015 PEN / ESPN Literary Award for Sports Writing Before noon on May 30th, 1964, the Indy 500 was stopped for the first time in history by an accident. Seven cars had crashed in a fiery wreck, killing two drivers, and threatening the very future of the 500. Black Noon chronicles one of the darkest and most important days in auto-racing history. As rookie Dave MacDonald came out of the fourth turn and onto the front stretch at the end of the second lap, he found his rear-engine car lifted by the turbulence kicked up from two cars he was attempting to pass. With limited steering input, MacDonald lost control of his car and careened off the inside wall of the track, exploding into a huge fireball and sliding back into oncoming traffic. Closing fast was affable fan favorite Eddie Sachs. "The Clown Prince of Racing" hit MacDonald's sliding car broadside, setting off a second explosion that killed Sachs instantly. MacDonald, pulled from the wreckage, died two hours later. After the track was cleared and the race restarted, it was legend A. J. Foyt who raced to a decisive, if hollow, victory. Torn between elation and horror, Foyt, along with others, championed stricter safety regulations, including mandatory pit stops, limiting the amount a fuel a car could carry, and minimum-weight standards. In this tight, fast-paced narrative, Art Garner brings to life the bygone era when drivers lived hard, raced hard, and at times died hard. Drawing from interviews, Garner expertly reconstructs the fateful events and decisions leading up to the sport's blackest day, and the incriminating aftermath that forever altered the sport. Black Noon remembers the race that changed everything and the men that paved the way for the Golden Age of Indy car racing.

The Indianapolis 500

The Indianapolis 500 PDF Author: J. Craig Reinhardt
Publisher: Red Lightning Books
ISBN: 168435076X
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 222

Get Book Here

Book Description
Known as the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing," the Indy 500 humbly began in 1911. Labeled as the first speedway, this two-and-a-half-mile oval is now home to many of today's top races, including the Brickyard 400, the Verizon IndyCar Series, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, the SportsCar Vintage Racing Association, the Red Bull Air Race World Championship, and its most famous race, the Indianapolis 500. In The Indianapolis 500: Inside the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, speedway tour guide and racing aficionado James Craig Reinhardt shares what makes the legendary racetrack special. He reveals the speedway's unbelievable history, fast-flying action, notorious moments, and its secrets, including facts about the beginning of the brickyard, why the drivers kiss the finish line, how milk became the drink of choice, and much more. The perfect gift for the veteran or rookie, The Indianapolis 500 is a must-have for all race fans.

Al Unser Jr: a Checkered Past

Al Unser Jr: a Checkered Past PDF Author: Al Unser
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781642341034
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
Winning came naturally for Al Unser, Jr. He had a gift for finding the fast line on the track and he possessed a boisterous and lovable personality. Fans and the press adored him. Behind this affable persona, an appetite for drugs and alcohol was destroying his private life. Unser's battle to climb out of that cave is one of the great stories in motorsports. A Checkered Past is an unblinking story of triumph, tragedy, and the road to recovery.

Blood and Smoke

Blood and Smoke PDF Author: Charles Leerhsen
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439149054
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 278

Get Book Here

Book Description
One hundred years ago, 40 cars lined up for the first Indianapolis 500. We are still waiting to find out who won. The Indy 500 was created to showcase the controversial new sport of automobile racing, which was sweeping the country. Daring young men were driving automobiles at the astonishing speed of 75 miles per hour, testing themselves and their vehicles. With no seat belts, hard helmets or roll bars, the dangers were enormous. When the Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened in 1909, seven people were killed, some of them spectators. Oil-slicked surfaces, clouds of smoke, exploding tires, and flying grit all made driving extremely hazardous, especially with the open-cockpit, windshield-less vehicles. Bookmakers offered bets not only on who might win but who might survive. But this book is about more than a race--it is the story of America at the dawn of the automobile age, a country in love with speed, danger, and spectacle.--From publisher description.

Beast

Beast PDF Author: Jade Gurss
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781642340105
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 328

Get Book Here

Book Description
Beast was the nickname of a shocking new race engine unveiled for the 1994 Indianapolis 500. The massive effort to design and build it in a seemingly impossible timeframe is still hailed as one of the most herculean efforts and well-kept secrets in the history of the Indy 500. In the award-winning book, Beast, bestselling author Jade Gurss chronicles the subterfuge and debunks the myths about this legendary power plant that persist twenty years on. Gurss interviewed key players involved in the race to uncover the story of how this engine powered the Penske PC23 chassis to one of the most talked-about Indy 500 races in history. The British race-engine experts at Ilmor Engineering offer detail about the design and manufacture of the engine. Roger Penske's team reveals how the engine and car were tested and developed, and how Mercedes came to be involved in the project. The story unfolds as Roger Penske and Mario Illien and Paul Morgan of Ilmor play every card they possess to create an incredible race engine--even rare World War II fighter planes and supersonic jets roar into the heart of this high-tech tale. Drivers Al Unser Jr. of the United States and Paul Tracy of Canada provide details on the tense weeks leading up to race day. The book reaches a suspenseful climax at 240 miles per hour at the Indy 500 noone can forget. Wrapped up in the drama and intrigue are real business and motivational lessons which made Roger Penske one of the most successful businessmen in the world and that helped Ilmor and its cofounders, Mario Illien and the late Paul Morgan, design and manufacture Indy car and Formula 1 championship-winning engines. Beast is not only a must-read for sports and race fans, but a compelling narrative for those who enjoy genuine lessons in business and technology or thrilling mysteries based on actual events.

Forged by Fire

Forged by Fire PDF Author: Sharon M. Draper
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439132062
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 166

Get Book Here

Book Description
The flame of love burns bright in the second book of Sharon M. Draper’s award-winning Hazelwood High trilogy. When Gerald was a child he was fascinated by fire. But fire is dangerous and powerful, and tragedy strikes. His substance-addicted mother is taken from him. Then he loses the loving generosity of a favorite aunt, and a brutal stepfather with a flaming temper and an evil secret makes his life miserable. The one bright light in Gerald's life is his little half sister, Angel, whom he struggles to protect from her father, who is abusing her. Somehow Gerald manages to finds success as a member of the Hazelwood Tigers basketball team, and Angel develops her talents as a dancer, despite the trouble that still haunts them. And Gerald learns, painfully, that young friends can die and old enemies must be faced. In the end he must stand up to his stepfather alone in a blazing confrontation. In this second book of the Hazelwood High trilogy, Sharon M. Draper has woven characters and events from Tears of a Tiger in an unflinchingly realistic portrayal of poverty and child abuse. It is an inspiring story of a young man who rises above the tragic circumstances of his life by drawing on the love and strength of family and friends.

The Art of Racing in the Rain

The Art of Racing in the Rain PDF Author: Garth Stein
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061738093
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 340

Get Book Here

Book Description
NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM FOX 2000 STARRING MILO VENTIMIGLIA, AMANDA SEYFRIED, AND KEVIN COSTNER MEET THE DOG WHO WILL SHOW THE WORLD HOW TO BE HUMAN The New York Times bestselling novel from Garth Stein—a heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope—a captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life . . . as only a dog could tell it. “Splendid.” —People “The perfect book for anyone who knows that compassion isn’t only for humans, and that the relationship between two souls who are meant for each other never really comes to an end. Every now and then I’m lucky enough to read a novel I can’t stop thinking about: this is one of them.” —Jodi Picoult “It’s impossible not to love Enzo.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune “This old soul of a dog has much to teach us about being human. I loved this book.” —Sara Gruen

Eddie Sachs

Eddie Sachs PDF Author: Denny Miller
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781420848946
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
EDDIE SACHS--THE CLOWN PRINCE OF RACING is a thoroughly researched biography of the "self-proclaimed" World's Greatest Race Car Driver. In the books introduction, the author states that just like there will never be another Bob Hope or John Wayne or Billy Graham, there will never be another Eddie Sachs. No race driver, past or present, can match the flamboyancy, zeal and zaniness of the Clown Prince of Racing. Sachs was also a great orator who could hold audiences spellbound. He would have his audiences pleading for more racing stories. Eddie captured the prestigious pole position for the Indianapolis 500 in 1960 and 1961. He was leading the 1961 500 Mile Race until he pitted to change a badly worn tire with just three laps to go. He wound up second to A.J. Foyt by 8 seconds. The following year he charged from 27th to finish 3rd. The story of Eddie Sachs can serve as an inspiration to all youth. When Eddie began his racing career, he was one of the worst drivers to ever compete. However, by sure determination and persistence, he would go on to become a member of the Indy 500 Hall of Fame! Many times Eddie would state, "If you can't win, be spectacular!" He lived that creed to the very end. On May 30, 1964 both Eddie and rookie driver Dave MacDonald died in a fiery crash at the start of the 500 Mile Race. It was by far the most spectacular accident in the history of the Indianapolis 500.

GT Love

GT Love PDF Author: Harald Hamprecht
Publisher: Delius Klasing Verlag Gmbh
ISBN: 9783667110640
Category : Opel GT automobile
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Get Book Here

Book Description
"When I was a young boy and saw the Opel GT, I knew: When I grow up, I must have this car. My wish came true." So says Opel manager Karl-Thomas Neumann in his preface. Bob Lutz, the living automobile legend, an 84-year-old combat jet pilot who, as a young marketing director at Opel, played a substantial role in starting the GT series, praises the GT: "The GT has a lot in common with my Alpha Jet. It is not very comfortable, has weak air-conditioning, the boot is almost non existent. But that is irrelevant. One hour in the Jet or GT - and you feel just happy. Almost younger." Kapitan, Admiral, Diplomat, Manta, Monza - many Opels have illustrious names and thrilling designs. But there is just one true legend of the brand with the flash: the GT. For generations of drivers the sports coupe is an eye-catcher, milestone, cult, and dream. It is regarded as the most sensational Opel ever - it sets an example for today's models especially the GT Concept, which premiered at the Geneva International Motor Show in March 2016. Authors Harald Hamprecht and Jens Cooper tell gripping stories about fans of the Opel GT from all over the world, from the USA to Italy to Australia. Both GT drivers, the authors combed the corporation's archive, searched for contemporary sources, and spent uncountable hours with experts, fans, and those who played a crucial role in the GT's development to create this - the ultimate guide to a remarkable car. SELLING POINTS: * Born in 1968 and manufactured for just five years, the Opel GT is a legend; this book is the standard work on the subject * Includes previously unpublished photos, design sketches, and anecdotes * GT designer Erhard Schnell, who celebrates his 90th birthday in 2017, has contributed some new sketches of the GT exclusively for this book * Celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Opel GT in 2018 - half a century of automobile history 200 colour images